What Are the Characteristics of a Good Leader in the Quran?

What Are the Characteristics of a Good Leader in the Quran?

Leadership is about confidence, but too much confidence is arrogance. So, a leader has to learn first that he or she is a slave to God the Almighty because recognizing this fact inspires one to be thankful to God, the Giver of all talents and capacities.

Thankfulness is to make use of one’s capacities to afford the responsibilities and duties and undertaking one’s role in life. However, arrogance means that one is obsessed with one’s views and refusing to hear others, which is disapproved.

In light of Surat Yusuf (Joseph, peace be upon him), Sheikh Nouman Khan explains the characteristics of the leadership.

Prophet Yusuf (peace be upon him) is a great example for a powerful leader who enjoyed the most important characteristics of a leader, namely honesty and knowledge. A strong leader must be honest about his position and duties while he already has thorough knowledge of what he manages. Losing one of these essentials possibly leads to failure. The Qur’an nominated these main attributes in the character of Prophet Yusuf when he said,

[Joseph] said, “Appoint me over the storehouses of the land. Indeed, I will be a knowing guardian.” (Yusuf 12:54-55)

Enjoy watching this video by Sheikh Nouman Khan in which he elaborates on the characteristics of a perfect leader in light of the Qur’an.